Old Habits Die Hard
by TicTacToeUK
Summary: An irresistible Arkfall. The return of old foes. Nolan and Irisa head out from Defiance straight into the unknown in the isolation of the Badlands; with seemingly impossible odds who is the newcomer and is he all he seems? This story is set mid way through Season 1. The story is now complete; let me know if you liked it as I am planning a follow up.
1. Chapter 1

Irisa burst through the door into the Lawkeeper office,

"Nolan ! Did you see that?" she shouted.

Nolan, who had been going over some paperwork requested by Mayor Rosewater, spun around to face his flame haired daughter.

"Take it easy kiddo, did I see what?"

Irisa was still very animated; prowling around the office - moving over towards the cell, and then back towards the desk where Nolan had both a pile of documents and his pistol.

"Incoming Arkfall ! Lit the sky up - how did you not notice that Nolan? Looked to be coming down north west of here, near Thatcher Ridge I'd say"

Nolan put down the sheets of paper he was still holding, "I've been busy here Irisa - there's a report of a nest of Hellbug Monarchs just a few clicks out of town".

Irisa frowned and made a dismissive hissing noise.

"Come on Nolan", she pressed, "We should at least go take a look, we used to be ark hunters remember ? Take a break - let's go have some fun!" the young Irath paused, "besides it's only a matter of time before Varus comes looking for us, I'm tired of having a bounty on my head...we might actually find something of value".

Nolan considered this for a moment, glancing between his gun and the papers as if trying decide what the rest of the day was going to have in store for him.

He reached out for the gun, smoothly putting it into his belt holster. "You're a bad influence kid; Amanda's not going to be pleased that the town lawmaker and deputy are off on what could be a search for nothing...". He smiled as he continued "...come on before I change my mind"

They both stepped through the door, into the bright sunshine and out onto the bustling Defiance streets. Nolan took a moment to look around the bustling street; down past several makeshift shops and businesses, together with the storage containers that lined the dusty road. In the the distance Nolan could see the ruins of the Arch which towered over the town, he then shifted his gaze towards a nearby stall where members of different species were interacting with each other - a tall Sensoth and a very short Liberata were noisily bartering.

A short distance away a familiar Castithan was making his way towards the Lawkeeper office, but was being held up and almost bowled over by a group of small human children who were playing a game in the street.

"Nolan!...", Datak Tarr shouted over to them as they were getting into Charger. Datak hurried over when he realised Nolan wasn't going to wait to talk to him. "Nolan, where are you off to in such a hurry, you wouldn't be going to investigate that Arkfall would you ? If you are then I demand that you take me with you...there may be Castithan or Votan treasures that it should be my right to recover".

Nolan had no intention of letting Datak come with him, so he replied "We're off on Lawkeeper business, Datak. I will fill you and the town council in later", and with that he closed the car door and they started to drive away.

"That was risky Nolan", said Irisa, "what are you going to tell them later if they ask?"

"That depends on what we find kiddo...that depends on what we find"

Datak Tarr watched the car speed away - a cloud of dust following it "very interesting Nolan" he mused to himself "and almost certainly a lie".

The pale Castithan then hurried off in the opposite direction towards his house.


	2. Chapter 2

Nolan drove the Charger through the overcrowded streets and then onwards to the outskirts of Defiance. Once they had left the town the scenery dramatically changed; the car moved on through the countryside along ruined roads, passing unnatural outcroppings which were created during terraforming and the occasional ancient human relic.

"How are we going to get past the stasis net Nolan?" asked Irisa after a few minutes of driving in silence. The car was now speeding through a shallow valley, rocks and trees lining each side of the road.

"You mean you don't have a plan ? After all, this was your idea..." Nolan answered with a smirk.

"Come on Nolan, don't give me that look, you seem to know where you're going"

"Ok. Well I figure if we head north we can bypass the net...it'll take us longer but we'll get there no questions asked", Nolan looked at Irisa whilst driving.

"Sounds like a plan...Nolan ! Look out!", Irisa shouted.

Rounding a corner Nolan broke heavily, bringing the charger to a quick stop; ahead of them in the middle of the road were several dark pink mounds.

"Hellbug chrysalises..." Remarked Nolan.

"Is this the nest you were telling me about back in the office?" asked Irisa.

"No...this looks like just a small nest, but we best get rid of them anyway...come on".

Nolan turned the engine off and then got out of the Charger. He surveyed the road ahead and drew his trusted po-tech pistol, firing into the nearest mound. The egg pod exploded in a thick pink mess.

Suddenly the ground beyond the chrysalises erupted, and from out of the newly created hole crawled two red Hellbug Warriors. The creatures did not approach, instead they stood their ground as if observing Nolan and his companion.

"Watch yourself Nolan", shouted Irisa who was still standing next to the Charger.

"No problem..." answered the lawman confidently without turning around, "just stay there, I've got these covered"

Immediately after the words were spoken the two companions became aware of a low rumbling noise, and the ground started to shake. From a short distance away on the steep hillside to the left of the car, earth shot into the air which was quickly followed by large claws, a brown body and finally a head capped with razor sharp teeth appeared; the whole of the large creature emerging from the ground.

The Hellbug Matriarch stood poised to attack.

"Erm, Nolan...", Irisa said quietly, "I think you're going to need a bigger gun..."


	3. Chapter 3

With a screech the Matriarch barrelled down the hill towards the two lawkeepers.

"Well at least we know why the other two weren't attacking anyway!", shouted Nolan as he ran back and dived for cover at the side of the Charger.

Irisa was not listening; at the first sign of movement she had made her way around to the back of the car and was now fumbling for something from inside the boot. The Hellbug Matriarch had now made it as far as the road in between the pods and where the car had halted, but its momentum had meant that it had continued on and had crashed into some trees on the opposite side of the road.

Nolan had got off several shots from his pistol, but the only effect they seemed to have was to make the Matriarch angrier. To make matters worse the two red Soldiers were now slowly making their way around towards them on the opposite side of the narrow dirt road.

"Shtako!", shouted Nolan, "we're being outflanked and this thing...", he said motioning to his gun, "...is next to useless".

Irisa appeared from around the back of the car "Here", she said, "try this..." as she tossed him a large over sized vo-tech machine gun.

"What...where did you get this ?" Nolan asked with astonishment, temporarily forgetting the peril they were in.

"Are you going to ask questions about it, or shoot it?" responded Irisa as she pulled out a smaller hand gun from the boot.

The Matriarch had now righted itself and was heading towards them. Nolan lined up his new weapon and fired - missing by several inches to the left of the Matriarchs leg.

"Sights are off on this thing" he complained.

"Oh I'm sorry..." Irisa said sarcastically as she fired her own weapon at the nearest of the two Soldiers, hitting it just above its mouth "the next time I confiscate an illegal weapon from a street thug in the Hollows I'll make sure that its been properly aligned first...". She fired again, dropping the first creature.

Nolan fired again, this time compensating for the sight shift - the Matriarch's front right leg slicing clean off. It reared up and charged.

"Watch out!" Nolan warned as he rolled away from the car as the large Hellbug bore down on them. He ended up sprawled on the road, the gun just out of his grasp.

Irisa, who was now kneeling in the grass on the other side of the car was rapidly finishing off the second of the Warrior bugs, looked over at the scene.

The Matriarch was now only a meter or two away from Nolan.

With a last shot at the one remaining red Warrior she shouted in horror "Nolannn !" as the huge creature leapt at the human who she considered to be her father.

A loud crack filled the air, at the same time a blinding light appeared, making her shut her eyes for the briefest of moments. When she opened them she could see brown pieces of the bug falling to the earth; the Matriarchs lifeless body losing balance and toppling over without its head attached.

Nolan stepped around the fallen Hellbug, studying the machine gun. "Did you know this thing has a burst charge mode ?", he said smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

Nolan dusted himself off, cleaning the dirt from his trousers. Irisa moved around to the front of the Charger and fired into the remaining Hellbug pods, clearing a way through so they could continue on their way.

They both stashed their weapons back in the trunk, got back into their seats and closed the doors.

Before he started the engine Nolan turned to Irisa.

"How much further outside of the net do you think the thing hit ?"

"Not far I suppose" came the reply.

The charger drove on firstly heading north and then turning west when Nolan had estimated they were beyond the stasis net. Once or twice they passed some small Hellbugs but they continued on without stopping. After a while they could clearly see a plume of smoke rising in the distance.

Nolan broke the silence "That must be it kiddo. Heads up when we get there...that much smoke is going to attract more than us to it, and this far out there's worse things than bugs to contend with"

Irisa nodded "other hunters do you mean?"

Nolan shook his head. "No, I was thinking of those mutants that we've been getting reports of. They've been spotted near anywhere that used to be military"

Irisa snorted "Mutants ? come on Nolan, next you'll be worried about vampires...", she laughed at her own joke but Nolan was straight faced; "I'm being serious Irisa, whatever they are, we've had too many sightings for them all to have been made up..."

Irisa thought about this "whatever Nolan...we aren't even close to the nearest army base anyway...relax, this'll be easy !"

After another five minutes of driving through the damaged wasteland Nolan slowed the Charger and then finally bought it to a stop. They both peered up through the windshield; fifty meters away and reaching high above them was a huge section of what used to be a Voltan starship. The ship had impacted heavily into ground so was partially buried, even so Nolan could see several locations that could be easily used to gain entry into the partial hull.

Irisa could barely contain her excitement; she turned her head towards Nolan with a large grin and said one word.

"Jackpot"


	5. Chapter 5

Nolan parked the Charger a short distance from the wrecked hull on the edge of some long grass in an attempt to disguise their presence there.

"Come on", he said, "let's get in, see what there is, and get back out again before anyone shows up"

Irisa shook her fiery hair "you worry too much Nolan" as she jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

Nolan watched as she ran towards the hull, "we'll see kiddo, we'll see".

He got out of the car and took out their newly acquired vo-tech weapons from the back of it together with a backpack which contained torches and other scavenging equipment. Nolan shouldered the backpack and then he started to follow Irisa to the ship fragment, casting an eye in all directions as he went; it did seem as though they'd be lucky this time after all.

When they reached the battered hull they realised that it was far more damaged than what it had seemed from a distance. The twisted metal and circuitry hanging everywhere blocked their path inside. They started to circle around and soon found a large opening into what appeared to be a corridor. Nolan led the way, cradling his weapon in readiness.

After a moment he called back "All clear, come on in".

Irisa looked surveyed the area and with pistol in hand, followed inside the alien ship.

With Nolan still leading the way, they made their way along a straight corridor which sloped gently downwards; metal still shining around them despite years floating in space and a rough landing on Earth. As the hull fragment had came to rest at a strange angle what they were walking on as a floor was actually a wall, cables and wiring hanging above their heads from the opposite wall which was now the ceiling. Every so often they had to jump over doorways that were now acting as holes in the floor. It was at one of these holes in the floor that Nolan stopped.

"Do you see that ?", he said whilst flattening himself to floor peering into the hole. He had been shining the torch light into every room they past, and was now focusing the beam onto something that had caught his eye.

"What did you spot Nolan?" Asked Irisa as she knelt with him on the edge.

The light had illuminated several golden objects, roughly fist sized and circular in shape which were now lying in amongst some debris at the bottom of the room they were above.

From the direction they had entered Nolan thought he heard a noise; he froze for an instant listening, but heard nothing else.

"What are they ? Medallions?", Irisa asked, not noticing his alertness.

Her question, together with the promise of the treasure broke Nolan's caution.

"Erm, what ?... yeah looks that way. Perhaps this was a trophy room or something."

"Lower me down" suggested Irisa, already unwrapping some rope from the backpack.

"I don't know kid", replied Nolan, "I think I heard something"

"All the more reason to hurry then", the young Irathian smirked as she tied the end of the rope around a nearby pipe.

"Wait a second..." Nolan started to say, but Irisa did not hear - she was already lowering herself into the darkness below.


	6. Chapter 6

Irisa lowered herself to the floor, the room she found herself in was larger than it had appeared to be when they were looking down into it. She picked up four golden medallions and put them in her shoulder bag, then surveyed the rest of the room; there was nothing else of obvious value.

"Got them Nolan - but there's a corridor down here, there might be something else down there - I'm going to take a look...

"No!", came the response, "I think we should quit while we're ahead kiddo. Come on back up"

"But Nolan..."

"No arguments", Nolan was looking back in the direction they had came, "I don't think we're alone"

Irisa shone the torch around the room one last time, and then made a disappointed sounding hiss; she walked back to the rope and started back up.

Helping her to climb back over the ridge, Nolan motioned to the exit. "Look alive. It's time to go".

They both switched off their torch lights just before they reached the hole in the hull, Nolan, who was in front looked outside slowly. His keen eyes scanned the landscape - but the only movement he could see was just outside the wrecked hull; in the clearing between them and the Cruiser was a small Hellbug Skitterling.

"That's your threat?", said Irisa. Nolan grinned back at her as he relaxed slightly, moving out into the open. The tiny Hellbug became alert - moving quickly towards the lawmaker; when it got a few feet from Nolan it jumped towards his face. Nolan stood his ground, at the last second swinging the rifle like a baseball bat; he caught the small bug directly on its body, causing it to fly through the air...dead by the time it hit the dirt.

Nolan turned to face the hull and was just about to give Irisa the all clear when the ground by his feet exploded. The air filled with dirt and the faint aroma of ozone from the shot - Nolan spun around, rifle at the ready searching for his attacker. A second laser blast came from a different direction, erupting the dirt by Nolan's feet.

"That was your last warning shot human! The next shot will not miss."

Nolan froze where he stood.

A tall male Irathian appeared from behind a dense bush at the edge of the clearing, pistol pointing at Nolan; the rest of the spirit rider gang emerged over the top of a small rising on the opposite side to where Nolan stood. Nolan studied the new comer as he walked towards him - the Irath was much taller than him, complete with two horizontal stripes of face paint across his nose. His hair was dyed light grey and shaved into a tight Mohican, but he was dressed not dissimilarly to Nolan in a typical arc hunter style.

"Are you the leader of this...group?" Nolan asked as he looked around.

"Quiet. You were not asked to speak", replied the Irath as he snatched the vo-tech gun off Nolan - passing it to one of his men after briefly inspecting it.

"Drop it", the shout came from Irisa as she exited from the arkfall wreckage - her own gun pointing at the gang leader.

If the leader of the spirit riders was taken aback by her presence, he gave no outward sign of this, instead saying "look around, you'll both be dead the second after you pull the trigger...now drop the weapon and get over here!"

Irisa looked at Nolan who nodded; she complied with the request, moving to stand with him.

"An Irath hunting with a human?..", the leader said as he walked around them, paying close attention to Irisa. "..and who do we have here?..Little Wolf?"

"Do I know you.?" warily asked Irisa.

"My name is Silass Lak" the Irathian leader said. "You dont know me, but I know of you...Sukar often talked of his 'Little Wolf'. But there will be more time to catch up.." he said with a sneer, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from Nolan, "..once we've gotten rid of your companion..."

He turned to his gang member who was still holding Nolan's rifle

"Tyran...Kill him"

Before anyone could react, the Irath called Tyran raised the gun, aimed directly at Nolan's head...and fired.


	7. Chapter 7

Irisa screamed.

The blue laser bolt missed Nolan's head by a centimetre, ending up blowing a chunk off the stricken hull behind the group.

Nolan let out a deep breath, he turned to his young companion as she was struggling to break the grip of Silass who was grabbing her arms.

"See kiddo. I told you those sights were off".

Silass cried in anger, "Tyran...finish him!"

The Irath gang member raised the rifle again, but before he could move a finger four shots rang out from behind the hull. Tyran fell backwards, smoke rising from his chest; three other Irathians also fell where they stood.

Nolan instinctively crouched down, while Silass grabbed Irisa's bag and pushed her away from him, twirling to see this new threat.

"So... this is your lawkeeper business you were so keen to get to?"

Datak Tarr stepped out of the shadows behind the hull with two pistols drawn.

"No no. Please everyone relax. Drop your weapons", he said as the remaining members of he gang tried to draw their weapons on this new target. The nearest raider to Datak was younger and slightly quicker than the others and had clearly decided to make a name for himself by swiftly trying to lunge at Datak. A loud crack sounding through the silence an instant later was an indication that this was a fatal mistake.

"Your new friends dont seem very bright Nolan. Looks like I was right to follow you.", concluded Datak.

"On your way Castithan!", Silass shouted, "This doesn't concern y..."

Even before the leader could finish his sentence a loud explosion hit the ground a very short distance from the standoff, scattering the lucky ones...dropping the rest. Another explosion hit just behind the group, the incoming projectile just over shooting its mark.

In the chaos and dust Nolan, Irisa, Datak, Silass and his remaining two gang members all tried to scramble for what little cover there was - Nolan and Silass ending up crouched behind the ridge that the gang members had emerged from minutes earlier.

Silass looked down past his feet, the bag had spilled the medallions onto the floor.

"Those hardly seem worth the effort...human" he shouted over the noise of another explosion.

Nolan, looked at the man who had just been trying to kill him.

"Are you serious?", he said, keeping his head down.

Silass took a quick look over the ridge edge and laughed "Not always human, and not with someone who I'm trying to forge an alliance with",

Nolan snorted "What ? What are you talking about - you just tried to blow my head off"

Silass laughed again, stealing another look over the mound of dirt "ah, that ? But it seems as though such a lot has happened since then...I propose a truce". Silass motioned with his head beyond the ridge in the direction of the explosions.

"A truce?", Nolan moved positions to see what the large Irath already knew.

Across the clearing he counted eight heavily armed dark clad figures circling their position. Irisa and Datak were pinned behind the charger; one of the remaining raider gang had not made it to cover, the other emerged chose his time to emerge from behind a bush, only to be cut down moments later. Nolan moved back into position beside Silass, "The Volge..." was all he said.

Silass smirked "that's right my new friend, and the Volge don't take prisoners", he was readying Nolan's vo-tech rifle that he had now claimed as his own.

Nolan could not believe what he was about to say, but the odds of escape appeared slim at best; he needed all the help he could get. He sighed. "Ok then...Silass. The name is Nolan, and you've got yourself a truce"

Silass nodded and with a roar stood up from behind their hiding place, firing the rifle even before he had completely cleared it.


	8. Chapter 8

The vo-tech rifle caught the armour clad figures off guard, artificial lightning bursting from the barrel with each pull of the trigger.

Silass proved to be an excellent shot with the weapon - immediately adjusting his aim to take into account the misaligned sights. One of the Volge took a hit to the head, while another fell clutching a leg.

Silass ducked back down to his hiding space when the Volge started to return fire.

"The remaining shtako won't be so easy to kill - you only get one chance at catching the Volge unawares..." Silass warned Nolan, "we need to come up with an exit strategy...".

Nolan nodded and looked to be about to suggest something when they both heard a new mechanical noise fill the air.

The Charger was starting up; Irisa, having taken advantage of the distraction that Silass firing had given her had decided to make her move. Nolan shifted positions in time to see the car move off - Datak leaning out of the window firing at the attacking group, his shots missing wildly as the vehicle's suspension strained against the uneven terrain.

"Come on buddy - time to go" Nolan said as he turned from watching the Charger disappear away to his right.

A dust cloud had been kicked up, blocking the aim of the attackers.

"Looks like Little Wolf has decided to cut and run my friend", Silass replied, "where do you suggest we move to?"

They were pinned down; the Volge were now moving cautiously towards their position. Nolan did not move - he was listening to the sounds around him; the familiar sound of the Charger engine had only lessened for a moment and was now getting steadily louder.

"Just get ready" he calmly said.

The Charger burst back into the clearing with a small jump from the right, the Volge turning their attention from the hiding figures - instead trying to target the fast moving vehicle. Irisa was wildly turning the steering wheel, swerving from side to side, hitting a Volge raider who was at the edge of the group, sending him flying into the dirt. She then made several tight circle turns close to the group, dust was flung up all over the clearing.

"Now!" Shouted Nolan and he stood up and ran from the dirt mound they had been hiding behind, and away from the clearing. Silass only took a second to comprehend the sudden movement - he too was on his feet and moving after Nolan.

"Wait...the bag...we've left it" Silass shouted, glancing back.

"No time friend, you can't spend it if you're dead" Nolan shouted over his shoulder.

Both of the new allies kept running. Suddenly the Charger burst over the bank where they had been, clearing the other side by several meters. Wild shots following it through the clearing dust cloud

When the car caught up to Nolan, Irisa smirked through the window, "Need a lift?" she said.

She slowed the car slightly, just long enough for Nolan to jump on to a running board attached to the bottom of the car. Silass was the last of the two to climb aboard, finding a hand hold at the back of vehicle, he banged the Charger's roof with the tip of the rifle "Go...Go!" he shouted.

Irisa didn't wait for a second invitation, flooring the car's accelerator - the sudden acceleration nearly dislodging its two new passengers.

The Volge had cleared the dust, but the distance between them was rapidly growing so after one or two final bursts they stopped firing - instead raising their arms for their perceived victory... the large Arkfall was theirs.

After putting a couple of miles between them and the wrecked hull, Irisa brought the Charger to a halt on the dirt road, under a rock outcrop. Nolan and Silass jumped off, stretching aching fingers that were tired after holding on.

Silass was the first to speak "Hey Nolan... I think you should get a bigger vehicle!", then he laughed.

Irisa got out from behind the wheel, Datak exiting from the other side. Datak looked in the direction they had come from, and satisfied they weren't being followed, made his way around to join the other three.

"Well, that was fun my new friends" Silass was still laughing. It seemed to Nolan that he was not the serious gang leader that he had first appeared to be.

"Total blowout" Irisa replied glumly.

"Come on kiddo", Nolan said to her, "we're the lucky ones. Least we got out of there in one piece"

He turned to Silass, "let's head back to Defiance - someone with your...attitude...we could use the help."

Silass held his hands up "oh no...you've got me all wrong, I'm not one for settling down."

Nolan nodded as if he had been expecting that answer. "Well, at least let us drop you off somewhere"

"No thanks friend," Silass beamed, "you never know what you'll miss out on travelling to a known destination"

Nolan shook his head, he couldn't work the Irath out; a very short time ago he had been close to being shot by him, but now he felt like he was going to be losing a friend.

Datak evidently did not share the feeling - he was already climbing back into the Charger. Irisa stepped up to Silass, who clasped his hands on her shoulders. "Farewell, Little Wolf. Take care of yourself". She looked him in the eye and then climbed into the passenger seat.

Silass watched her close the door and then turned to Nolan, holding the vo-tech rifle out in from of him. "I think this is yours".

Nolan smiled, "Keep it Silass, looks like you are attached to it anyway...call it the only prize of the day".

The two shook hands, and without any more words being spoken Nolan got into the car, started it up and drove away.

Silass watched them go, waving the rifle as they went.

When they had disappeared around the corner of the rocks he surveyed the landscape - there was not much to see in any direction.

He looked up to the sky and smiled, saying to himself "No cares and no gang. Just the way I like it..". He looked down at the gun, "...but the only prize of the day ? I don't think so..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden medallion. One he had discretely put there earlier when hiding from the Volge. He laughed and flicked it up in the air - watching the metal reflect the sun as it spun. He caught it as it came down. He briefly looked at it again, as if it had made a decision for him, and then returned it to his pocket.

He set out walking off the dirt road, away from the Arkfall, away from Defiance...in the direction of the setting sun.

The End.


End file.
